Remaking a Memory
by TCGeek
Summary: They always say, that history repeats itself. But when it comes to making good memories, sometimes repetition is a good thing. Oneshot DerekxAngie


**I am diagnosing myself with a disease as of this very minute. I have two actually -  
1) I can't write a story where Derek and Angie don't pop up somewhere.  
2) I can't write a oneshot that's under 1000 words. It, has never happened. EVER.**

**In fact, this one is over 4000. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Oh well, I still hope you like it.**

**This is for the-good-times over on DA - if I'm not mistaken, I think her account here is chiiscake...?**

**Anyway, she requested this and I wrote it for her - an early Christmas present, if you will. Its DerekxAngie, of course. :D**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

After losing his father, Derek decided at the young age of 13 that he would spend the rest of his life fighting disease in the field of medicine. 

Unfortunately for him, giving his entire existence to his education had really left Derek with little time to be interested in what the opposite sex had to offer. To him, girls were too needy – and every one that he fell for was just another distraction from his much sought-after future.

Well, that was what he liked to tell himself. The truth was, Derek was really just oblivious.

The first year that Derek had become a surgeon, he had been thrown into something he never expected. During the journey of saving the world from GUILT, Derek had noticed this tiny thought in the back of his head, one that had never let him stop thinking about that special someone. He was never sure if it was due to the fact that she was always right by his side, or possibly the fact that she would never _let_ him forget about her, what with the constant yelling and all…

He had put his feelings away through the ordeal, both of them focused in on doing what they needed to do. But after things had settled down just a bit, Derek had come to realize that for the first time in his life, he was falling…_hard_. And much to his complete shock, when he finally willed himself to ask her on a date, she said yes.

…she also said yes to the second one.

…and the third.

…and actually asked _him_ out on the fourth.

As he walked her to her front door after their fourth date, Derek pulled Angie into a big embrace, hearing her giggle just a bit. Sure he had willed himself to ask her out, but kissing her… well, that was a completely different story.

"How is it that I ask _you_ out, and you still end up being able to connive the waiter into letting you pay..?!" she joked, stepping back from the embrace to look him in the eyes.

"I guess I'm more crafty than you make me out to be…" he said softly, sticking his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the ground, smiling. It was a warm summer night, and the pink four inch stilettos Angie wore were a perfect compliment to the crisp, white ball skirt that flowed out gently around her legs, cutting off just below her knees. Derek's eyes caught the jewels on her shoes as he decided to make a move, to_ finally_, show Angie how he really felt about her.

He chuckled nervously as he looked up, swearing that he could see the faintest of blushes on her cheeks.

"A-Angie…?" he said, slightly stuttering.

Both absorbed in their own moment, neither of them had heard the rustle in the bushes as a small creature moved through them, towards the two.

"Hmm..?" she said, snapping her gaze quickly up to him.

Now it was Angie that could see his cheeks start to take on a rosy color as he looked at the ground, and then up into her eyes. There was no mistaking it – Angie had seen that look from boys before… and while it had never been a big deal back then, she could feel herself starting to shake just a bit, even in the nearly 85 degree heat.

Derek's eyes shone from behind his glasses as he continued to look at her, very timidly taking a step forward – followed by another small one, now, the distance between them virtually non-existent. He knew there was a smile on his face, but seeing the hopeful smile on hers, deemed it okay that he was grinning like an idiot. Angie felt his hands on her sides as they nervously slid around until they met behind her, pulling her closer to him. The same goofy grin he had made itself present on her face as he looked at her once more, tilting his head just slightly to his right as he moved closer. Pausing for the briefest of seconds, Derek calmed himself before he decided to go for it.

Lips so close to hers that he could smell the vanilla lip gloss she had on, Derek mentally smiled, realizing there was not a thing about her that didn't absolutely drive him crazy. He could feel the warmth of her breath as he slowly came closer… and as Derek rounded the finish line, he and Angie both closed their eyes, ready to revel in the moment.

That is, until Angie screamed straight into his face.

Not just any scream either. A high-pitched, "someone is stabbing me to death" scream.

Derek quickly released his hold on her and shot backwards like a bolt of lightning, his hands over his face as he tried to calm himself from literally having the bejeezus scared out of him. The quest to regain his composure was broken as he looked to see what on Earth was going on, but he didn't have time to think, as suddenly, Angie jumped into his arms.

He stared at her blankly for a minute, now holding her in a form of bridal style. But instead of being loosely draped in his arms, her arms were latched around his neck, her legs curled up into a tiny ball as she held onto him, her face in his shoulder. Part of him melted, watching her run to him for protection, but the other half was very concerned.

"Angie… hey…" he said, lightly shaking her to get her to look at him. She pulled her head off of his shoulder and looked at him as she bit her lip, looking like she was about to cry.

"What, is going on?!" he asked, watching as her eyes looked over to where they were standing just seconds prior. Scanning the area quickly, Derek's eyes settled on a small creature on the ground. It was seated calmly, its bright blue eyes staring at Angie as she gripped onto Derek for dear life.

"Oh my goodness!" Derek exclaimed, breaking into a huge grin. "Angie, you don't have to be scared… it's just a kitten!"

"EXACTLY!" she said, burying her face once again.

Derek continued to smile as he looked at the little kitten. It couldn't have been that old, maybe a few months at most. It was light grey and white striped, and one of its pointed ears flopped over, the other one sticking straight up. He chuckled as he looked at the feline, its silver tag shining fiercely against the light on Angie's porch.

"…You're scared of cats, I take it?" he asked, chuckling slightly as how cute she was.

"Don't make fun of me! And yes, they scare me to death!" she said, extending her legs downward as she planted her feet on the concrete, using Derek as an anchor to steady herself as she fluffed out her skirt, promptly walking behind him after – using him as a shield.

She stayed put as Derek walked towards the feline, bending down. Instantly the cat came to him, and Angie watched from a distance away as Derek sat down on the sidewalk and pulled the kitten into his lap, petting it. She noticed an unmistakable grin on his face, leaving her to see that he thought the cat was the cutest thing in the world, apparently.

"_...hopefully he doesn't think it's cuter than I am..."_ she thought.

"How could you be scared of this wittle guy?!" he asked, leaving Angie to raise an eyebrow as she chuckled at the statement.

The kitten sat up and started to meow intermittently, sometimes the noise coming out no more than a squeak. Derek's brow furrowed as it cried, leaving him to believe that since it was young, it was probably lost and hungry.

"Angie, we have to feed it!" he said, standing up with the kitten still in his arms, squeaking. He looked at her expression, full of fear as she backed another step away from him.

"We?" she asked, looking up at him.

Derek's smile dropped as he looked at her, and then back at the kitten. Reading the nametag on it, he continued.

"Oh… okay, I forgot… Well, I'll take… Pluto here home to my place, and feed him…"

Angie sighed, walking past him and the cat quickly as she walked to her front door, unlocking it and shoving it open.

"Come on inside… if someone is looking for him, it's probably not a good idea that you take him across town… and I have some milk in the fridge."

Derek smiled, realizing that Angie was actually inviting him in. Sure, it was because of a cat, but he could dream… right?

"Are you sure? I mean, if it freaks you out I can stay outside with him…" he mumbled.

Angie smiled. "I'm sure – come on in, and I'll make us some coffee…" she said enticingly, knowing Derek would never turn down a cup of coffee in his lifetime.

----------

Derek and Angie were seated on her plush dark brown couch, sipping hot coffee out of black mugs with white swirling designs on the outside. As Derek scanned her apartment, he could see that very few things were out of place, and that Angie had very good taste in interior decorating.

The kitten was finishing off its bowl of milk, perfectly content with the bowl Angie had set out for it in her kitchen. She kept eyeing it nervously, checking to make sure that it was still there, and not creeping up on her like it had outside. Derek noticed her worried stare and his forehead furrowed. He timidly reached up and rubbed her arm gently to get her attention. When she looked at him, he was staring at her gently, the slightest smile on his face.

"If you don't mind me asking… why, are you so afraid of cats?" he asked her, watching as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, I know, I must look like the biggest idiot to you tonight…" she said, trying to laugh it off. "But they really do terrify me…"

She sighed.

"When she was still alive, my grandmother on my father's side had these Siamese cats… two of them. I know it sounds stupid to say this, but I swear to you they were evil.."

Derek couldn't help chuckling at her, watching her scowl at him briefly.

"They loved my grandmother and my parents, but hated me for some reason… every time they would go in the other room they would hiss and swat at me and stuff – and because nobody was around to see it…"

"…nobody believed you?" Derek asked, to which she smirked and nodded her head, taking another sip of her coffee.

"One day when I was young, my grandmother had been teaching me to knit, and I had this giant ball of yarn…"

"Uh oh…" Derek said, chuckling again as he finished off his coffee, setting it on the table.

"Yeah – it rolled off the couch and they began to play with it – and like an idiot, I got up to get it, and they both jumped on top of me and scratched me from head to toe. Literally, head to toe – I was bleeding the whole rest of the day…" she said, stretching her leg out over his lap. Derek watched as she pointed out two small scars from it, barely noticeable now that she was a grown woman.

"Aww, Ang…!" he said, running a finger over them gently. "I'm sorry…"

"Nah, its okay… I suppose I should have gotten over it by now…"

"What about you?" she asked, leaning back on the couch. Her skirt fanned out all around her as she sat sideways, moving slightly closer to him, resting her head on the back of the couch.

"Well…" he said, putting an arm around her as he noted her previous advance. "When I was little, I had a cat named Tama… looked exactly like that cat, except her eyes were brown, and the grey was a bit darker… she even has the same ear flop."

Angie watched as a flash of sadness swept across Derek's eyes, his head bowing slightly.

"Stupid as it sounds, that cat and I were best friends… she slept in my room every night, followed me everywhere, and was just – I don't know, whenever I had a bad day or something I would just kind of chill out with her in my lap and it would always make me feel better…"

"That's not stupid…" Angie said. "Especially when you're young and your parents annoy the heck out of you…"

"Yeah…" he said, chuckling. "It was always nice just to sit and pet her – it always really calmed me down…"

"…but one day, we were playing outside like always… and she ran out into the street. I watched a car hit her…" he said, sighing dejectedly.

"Oh my God, Derek!" Angie said, a hand flying up over her mouth, her eyes watering as she looked at his sad expression.

"I always blamed myself because I wasn't fast enough to do anything about it – I didn't even see the car coming…"

Angie reached over and placed her hand on top of his, squeezing it as he continued. She saw him smile briefly at her touch before he turned serious.

"Heads up, Ang…"

She whirled around to see the little kitten walking towards them – more specifically, towards Derek. It looked up at him as Angie watched his face light up again, feeling a smile creep across her own mouth.

"…No, you can't come up here…" he said gently, reaching down as he began to pet the top of Pluto's head softly. Instantly the cat laid down, purring as Derek continued to pet him.

Angie swallowed hard.

"No, its okay – you can bring him up here… just, keep him in your lap..?" she said, biting her lip softly.

"Sure…" he said, reaching down and scooping his hand under the cat's stomach, lifting it into his lap. He stroked it gently, and within minutes, it had fallen asleep, curled up on Derek's stomach.

Though she hated cats, Angie couldn't help but smile at the sight – it was damn adorable, as far as she was concerned.

"So, if you love cats so much, why did you never get another one?" she asked, watching him pick his gaze up off of the cat to look back at her, smiling softly.

"Well a year later, my dad died…" Derek continued, slightly looking sad again. He looked down at the sleeping kitten and smiled again. "Then after I got past that, I was focused on school and then eventually went to college… so, I knew I really didn't have time for it – besides, they frown on cats in the dorms…"

Angie giggled. "Yeah, I would figure so…"

The two sat in silence for a small while before they locked eyes again, smiling warmly at one another before they were cut out of their moment by a loud knocking.

Trading confused glances, Angie rose from the couch and walked over to the door, looking out the side window confused.

Angie pulled open the door and was faced with two young children, their father not far behind them, walking up Angie's sidewalk.

"What can I do for you?" she asked sweetly, smiling at them.

"We… We lost our kitten!" the small girl exclaimed, before starting to cry. Her father scooped her up into his arms.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late…" he said. "But, he's little and grey and white – and has a name tag that says…"

"…Pluto?" Derek said, smiling as he rose from the couch, the kitten waking up just slightly in his grasps.

"Oh, thank GOD…" the man said, smiling. Reluctantly, Derek handed Pluto over to the little boy.

"Thank you so much for scooping him up.. I really appreciate it…" he said. "Have a good night..!"

"You too…" Angie replied, smiling.

She closed the door behind her, staring at Derek sympathetically, but quickly tried to change the subject.

"…want to watch a movie?" she asked.

Derek smiled as he put an arm around her shoulders, walking her back over to the couch.

"I'd love to…" he said, unwilling to admit he already missed Pluto.

---------

Derek's back was resting against the armrest of the couch, his left leg laying across the couch, the other leg hanging off the edge. Angie was situated in between his legs, covered with a thin blanket, her body resting against his chest. Both of his arms were wrapped around her, her blonde head was rested in the crook of his shoulder, and his head was rested lightly on top of hers as they watched the movie, cuddled up with one another.

As the movie ended, Derek quickly noticed that Angie had fallen asleep on him, leaving him to grin like an idiot once again. Sitting up very slowly with her still in his arms, Derek planted his right foot on the ground as he scooped her up, sliding his other leg off the couch until it too was firmly on the floor. He stood up and walked very slowly back down the hallway adjoining the living room, realizing that he had no idea where her bedroom was. Thankfully for him as he navigated the darkness of her apartment, he spotted a bed, noticing that her bedroom door was wide open. Gently, he walked in and laid her down so softly, as not to wake her. She stirred for a quick second before relaxing once again, and Derek took the moment to briefly smile at her – finally realizing just how far he had fallen.

Now it made sense to him why everyone was so hormone crazy in college.

As he turned to leave, he spotted a pad of paper and a pen next to the phone on her nightstand. Smiling, he pulled the cap off the pen and wrote her a message, as he looked at her beautiful sleeping form one last time.

"Goodnight, Angie…" he whispered, as he removed himself from her bedroom, and shortly after, her house.

----------

Angie woke confused, still dressed to the T from last night. She looked around, giggling uncontrollably out of cuteness when she realized that Derek must have put her there and tucked her in. Her suspicious were confirmed as she swung her legs out of bed, catching black ink scribbled across her normally white pad of paper. Lifting the top sheet in front of her face, Angie beamed as she read it, nearly unable to contain her giggles.

_Good morning..!_

_Way to fall asleep on me last night... Just kidding, I forgive you..._

_...assuming I get to see you today:D_

_Now that the cat is gone we'll have nobody to ruin our moments (hopefully)_

_  
Call me when you wake up – _

_Derek_

Setting down the paper, she picked up the phone, dialing Derek as she continued to smile – it was at moments like this, Angie felt like a school girl all over again.

"_You're up!"_ he answered, launching her into a fit of giggles.

"Yes, I'm up… I'm so sorry I fell asleep – you should've woken me up!"

"_No way – you looked so peaceful... I couldn't bother you if I wanted to..."_

"Well, will it make it better if you get to see me today?"

"_(chuckle) I was hoping you'd say that..."_

Angie giggled as well. "Okay, well, pick me up at three…?"

"_Sure – what did you want to do?"_

Angie smiled to herself. "It's a surprise."

"_Uh-oh... (chuckle) Okay then – I will see you at three o'clock... can't wait..!"_

"Me either – Bye Derek."

She placed the phone back down on the holder and giggled as she walked into the bathroom, showering, getting ready, and walking out the door. It was only one at the time, but Angie had a surprise up her sleeve.

----------

As she finished packing the last of the food for her surprise picnic with Derek, Angie smiled, hearing a knock at the door. She hurried over to it, pulling open the door with a giant smile on her face.

Hands in his pockets, Derek smiled broadly back at her, pulling her into a hug as he walked inside. Immediately after he greeted her, his eyes spotted the basket on the counter.

"Aww, you packed us a picnic?" he asked, tilting his head to the side just a bit.

"Sure did..." she said, getting pulled back into a hug again.

"…but." she interrupted, backing away.

"First… I think I should tell you that we're not going to be alone…"

The smile dropped straight off of Derek's face, though he tried to hide his disappointment.

"Oh… Okay…" he said, forcing a smirk.

"That reminds me…" she interrupted, trying to hide her smile. "I'll be right back… I forgot something…"

Derek turned around, looking around her apartment as she hurried back into the bedroom. When she came out, his back was to her, but she cleared her throat gently, causing him to spin around.

Derek's mouth dropped wide open into a giant, irrepressible grin as he looked at Angie, standing in front of him with a small grey and white kitten in her hands, a red bow tied around its neck loosely. The cat looked exactly like Tama – darker grey and white striped, brown eyes – even the floppy ear. Derek began to laugh as he stepped slowly towards her, watching her giggle out of control at his reaction.

"Angie…!" he exclaimed, still laughing out of surprise. "You, got me a cat!?!"

She nodded, smiling as he closed in on her and the feline, petting its head gently.

"And, you're holding it!" he said, looking at her with a loving smile.

"Yeah – it took me a couple of tries to do it… luckily the people were patient with me..." she said, slightly giggling.

As he pet the cat gently, Derek's hand brushed a small metal object. Looking at it, he noticed a little silver tag hanging from the kitten's purple collar, reading "Tama". Derek looked up at Angie, feeling slightly like he was going to tear up.

Gently, he took Tama from Angie, pulling the kitten into his chest with his left hand as his right continued to pet her.

"Angie…" he said, chuckling again as he pulled her into a hug. As he pulled back, she noticed that his smile had faded just a bit.

"This is, the most amazing, thoughtful, thing that anyone, has _ever_, done for me…" he said, looking at her with disbelief in his eyes.

She smiled, petting the kitten briefly.

"How could I not, Derek? My heart broke watching you when you had to give up Pluto yesterday… and besides, with stress from work, you could use a buddy to wind down with…"

Angie watched confused as he walked over and set the kitten down on the couch, slowly walking back over to her.

"What are you doing…?" she said, watching as he took her hands in his.

"Thank you, so much…" he said, smiling. "But I told you in my note, I'm not going to let a cat ruin any more of our moments…"

He chuckled nervously again as he pulled her into his arms once more, brushing a piece of hair from her face as he tilted her chin up towards him, and slowly leaned in. Unlike last time, not only did he get to smell her vanilla lip gloss, he got to share it with her as he passionately locked lips with her – something for which they had both waited for quite some time. Angie wrapped her arms around Derek's waist, pulling him closer to her as they softly, but passionately kissed. As it went on, he became more and more confident in his actions, brushing his hands through her hair and running them from her head down to her waist, where he pulled her in closely once more, before finally letting her go. As they pulled apart, Derek couldn't help it - he started to chuckle, beaming as he pulled her into a hug. Angie sighed softly as she laid her head against his chest, inhaling the scent of his cologne as he continued chuckling just a bit. A smile swept her face as she cocked her head to look at him.

"What's so funny?" she said, unable to suppress her dazed smile, still unable to believe how good of a kisser he was.

"FINALLY!" he exclaimed, kissing her on the forehead as she giggled uncontrollably, hugging him back. He kissed her softly once more before he lifted her off the ground in a big hug, setting her back down as they walked towards the door. She grabbed the basket and the blanket, and he grabbed Tama, standing nearby as she put on her shoes and turned off the lights in her house.

"Ready…?" she asked, watching as he faltered for just a minute.

"…Nobody is really coming with us, right?" he said, watching as she smiled, kissing him on the cheek.

"Nope, it's just me, my boyfriend, and his cat…!" she exclaimed.

"Boyfriend?!" he squeaked, watching as she giggled.

"What, is that not okay?" she asked, her green eyes dancing with amusement.

He beamed, hugging onto Tama closely as he leaned in and kissed Angie again – once on her lips, and once on her forehead.

"It's not okay – it's perfect…" he said, taking her hand as they traded a warm smile, walking hand in hand out the door together.

* * *

**Aww. Kitties. Aww.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it - and I hope everyone's not too tired of reading all my DerekAngie fluff. If you feel too fluffy, go read Hostage. People are getting shot, that should tone down the fluff. :D**

**See you later!**


End file.
